Ball State University Athletics
Ball State University
8-7, 4-0MAC
Kent
3-12, 1-3MAC
WBB Defeats Kent State; Remains Perfect In MAC Play
January 15, 2015 | Women's Basketball
By Doug Zaleski
BallStateSports.com
Ball State guard Candyce Ussery found herself wide open at the 3-point line on the left side of the court midway through the second half of Wednesday's women's basketball game in Worthen Arena.
At that point of the game, Ussery had hit 4-of-5 shots from the arc and couldn't have been faulted for lofting another one.
Instead, with a Kent State defensive player scrambling to make a late pressure, Ussery gave up her good look at the basket and dished the ball to teammate Shelbie Justice for a 3-point shot.
Justice missed the attempt, but the play was evident of the crisp ball movement displayed by the Cardinals throughout the game as they enjoyed one of their best shooting performances of the season while trouncing Kent State 85-47 in Mid-American Conference action.
“I liked the energy and effort our team played with, and right now that seems to be a pretty good equation for us,” Cardinals coach Brady Sallee said.
The effort on both ends of the court was strong.
The Cardinals had a season-high 24 assists on 31 field goals, indicating how proficiently they moved the ball on the fastbreak (16-2 scoring edge), off Kent State turnovers (28-9 scoring advantage) and in their half-court offense.
“We were crisp with our ball movement,” Sallee said. “The other part of it was, these two (Ussery and Moriah Monaco) especially, were hunting their shots.
“It wasn't in (Ussery's) hands very long and the ball was up. That tells you they were feeling it and in rhythm. Moriah the same way.”
Ussery and Monaco led the Cardinals (8-7, 4-0 MAC) to 54.4 percent shooting from the field, a mark bettered only by .563 against Louisville in a November loss. Ball State made 10-of-20 shots from the 3-point line against the Golden Flashes, the first time this year it made at least half of its attempts from the arc.
Ussery, a junior, scored a career-high 16 points while making 6-of-7 shots overall and 4-of-5 3-pointers.
“It felt like we clicked very well; it was a good shooting night for everyone,” she said. “I've been struggling with my shooting up to this game, and I've been putting in a lot of work in the gym. It finally paid off today.”
Monaco, a freshman, also had a career high with 19 points. She made 8-of-10 shots and 2-of-3 from the arc.
“I feel like we had flow in the offense and had the ball moving a lot,” she said. “My teammates got me off screens really well, and they were (looking) for us outside shooters.”
Nathalie Fontaine added a double-double with 19 points and 10 rebounds for Ball State, which led 40-22 at halftime.
Defensively, the Cardinals forced Kent State (3-12, 1-3 MAC) into 23 turnovers as Shelbie Justice and Renee Bennett each had three steals. Ball State opponents are averaging 22 turnovers in the past five games.
“The defensive effort again was there,” Sallee said.
Ball State ran into a brief obstacle in the first three minutes of the second half when it had difficulty breaking Kent State's three-quarter court press. Sallee called a quick timeout for a one-sided conversation on the bench.
“Sometimes you have to snap them a little bit, and they handled it well,” he said. “From that point on we were really crisp with the press break. … Eventually (Kent State) had to say 'No mas' and play us in the half court.”
The Cardinals, tied with Central Michigan as the only 4-0 teams in the MAC, will play three of their next four games on the road. The stretch starts with a contest at 1 p.m. Saturday at Buffalo.
